Young Justice: Retribution
by Legend Red
Summary: The continuation of Young Justice. The Reach may have been defeated, but a new invasion is about to begin.
1. Fresh Start

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Young Justice or any related DC characters.**

**NOTES:** _This takes place months after "Endgame". Events happened between the end of Invasion and the beginning of now. It is a new year, and this season will last from January 1 to December 31. _

APOKOLIPS

JULY 5, 00:16 UTC

A giant-sized satellite flew toward a giant, black ball with magma geysers sprouting out. This was Apokolips. One of the two homeworlds of the intergalactic deities known as the New Gods. As he walked through a hallway, he passed Desaad, a New God and famous television host G. Gordon Godfrey, the former of which scowled at Vandal. He walked towards a New God who was standing close to a ledge. The New God turned around, revealing himself to be the ruler of Apokolips. They avoided shaking hands by grabbing each others' wrists.

"Business as usual," Vandal said to the ruler of Apokolips.

Months later, in a dark city, a figure dressed entirely in black ran through several rooftops, being chased by a kid dressed in a suit. He points his fist at him and his hand turns into clay, and it stretched to punch the kid. The kid simply jumps over the fist, leaving a crater on the spot where it landed. A kid around the same age passed by on a sewer plate, firing a blast of electricity at the figure in black.

"Gninthgil!" the kid yelled out, activating his powers. Lighting was shot out of his fingers, joining up with his teammates' blast. The combined blasts ripped the figures' outfit in half, revealing that he is Clayface.

"Come on. You know that stopped working years ago," said Clayface, taunting the kids.

"That was just a distraction," a more familiar figure said as he landed a flying side kick on the side Clayface's head, slamming his it on the ground and sliding across the roof.

"Impulse!" Superboy called out.

"Its Kid Flash now," countered the hero formerly known as Impulse. A red and yellow blur came in and put handcuffs on Clayface's hands, and an Inhibitor Collar around his neck. The blur slowed down, revealing himself to be the new Kid Flash.

"I will never get used to that," said Superboy as Alpha Squad towered over Clayface's unconscious body.

GOTHAM CITY

JANUARY 1, 20:16 EST

SIX MONTHS LATER

THE WATCHTOWER

JANUARY 1, 22:18 EST

"Recognized Superboy, B04. Kid Flash, B23. Static, B26. Zachary Zatara, B28," the Computer in the Watchtower said as Alpha Squad emerged through a Zeta Beam.

"It's Zatara," said Zachary in response to hearing his full name. He walked with the other members of Alpha Squad to see their leader, Kaldur'ahm, fiddling with the screens.

"Alpha Squad, report," said Aqualad as soon as he looked up from the screens.

"The mission was a success," replied Superboy, "Clayface is back in his cell at Arkham."

"And I assume the rookies were cooperative?"

"They didn't cause any trouble."

"Excellent work, Conner."

"So, what are you working on?"

"Observing Beta Squad."

STAR CITY

JANUARY 1, 19:23 PST

Meanwhile, in a warehouse, the group dubbed Beta Squad were watching six similar looking aliens from a ceiling.

"So, what did The Team want with this warehouse?" said Arrowette.

"They don't want to own it," Tigress said as she put down her binoculars, "they want to protect one of the world's largest corporations from extraterrestrial thieves. Remember the last time extraterrestrials associated themselves with a corporation?"

"Pretty sure Lex couldn't make a profit off of them."

"Exactly. Which is why we're taking them down and leaving them to the Green Lantern Corp."

Then, at that moment, the aliens let themselves open. Tigress seized this opportunity by pulling out her crossbow and shooting an arrow at the extraterrestrials. Arrowette did the same. Tigress' arrow hit first, then Arrowette hit second. The remaining aliens turned around and noticed the teens.

(The Meta-Earthlings!) one of the aliens said in a language neither Tigress nor Arrowette recognized, (They found us!) The alien looked around, presumably searching for something.

(Where did you put the Father Box?) the alien asked the other aliens. Then, as if on cue, a Boom-Tube opened, and the aliens went through it. Tigress and Arrowette landed on the spot where the aliens were standing, and looked at each other, puzzled.

"This is so being reported" said Arrowette.

THE WATCHTOWER

JANUARY 4, 19:00 EST

"Recognized Aquaman 06" said the computer as Aquaman entered the Watchtower through the Zeta Beam. He joined his fellow heroes in a briefing.

"During their mission last year," said Black Canary as she pulled up images of the mission, "Gamma Squad discovered that Vandal Savage took the Warworld to a planet known as Apokolips." an image of Gamma Squad getting ready to fight against Klarion on The Warworld was pulled up.

"The mission itself did not succeed," bringing up an image of Gamma Squad lying unconscious on the floor of The Watchtower as Captain Atom and Black Canary looked on in horror, a red and black portal opened in the corner was shown.

"But that bit of info went a long way. A few days ago, a Boom-Tube was used by several alien criminals to escape the scene of an attempted robbery. However, two of were unable to escape, and they were immediately placed under arrest by the Green Lantern Corp."

"We were unable to get them to speak," said Green Lantern Hal Jordan on the arrest, "but it was clear that they weren't working alone."

"Apokolips is not abandoned as we first expected" said Batman, "which means an investigation of Amertek is in order."

"My team will handle the situation." said Aqualad.

"Excellent," said Hal, "Then I will be going back to Oa with John and Guy to make sure the thieves don't escape." Then, the League members left the Watchtower, leaving Aqualad alone with his team.

A few minutes later, the rest of The Team arrive to begin the briefing.

"During our latest mission" said Aqualad, "Beta Squad prevented two of the six alien thieves from escaping through a Boom-Tube. Earlier today, we discovered this." He pulls up a screen and pressed play, showing a pre- recorded news conference.

"Mr. Alva, where are the other two owners?" asked Lois Lane of the Daily Planet.

"The other two are on leave," said the man named Mr. Alva on a pedestal, "they will be back at a later day." Aqualad then paused the video.

"The League assumes that the thieves are actual the owners of Amertek."

"They were basically robbing themselves?" said Kid Flash.

"Exactly. But we need to prove this before the League gets involved. Superboy, Miss Martian, Tigress, you're with me on Alpha. We will be infiltrating Amertek headquarters to prove that League's theory is correct. Blue Beetle, Bumblebee, Robin, Wonder Girl, you're Beta. You will be standing in front of Amertek's headquarters in cause anyone else decides to open up a Boom-Tube. The rest will be taking the night off."

"But Kaldur," said his fellow Atlantean La'gann, "you need all hands on deck for this one."

"Not right now, my friend. If we need backup, we'll call. Now let's get started."

METROPOLIS

JANUARY 4, 19:59 EST

The Bio-Ship headed toward the headquarters of Amertek to begin the mission. It fired a laser blast at one of the glass windows on the roof, shattering the window. Then, Aqualad, Miss Martian, Superboy, and Tigress jumped out of the Bio-Ship and through the hole into the company's lobby. They were immediately greeted by security. Aqualad pulled out his Water-Bearers to use the water in his poach to create a cobra to consume the security guards.

"Go," roared Kaldur, "I will hold them off." The rest of Alpha Squad took off to find the owners.

In the hallway, Superboy used his super hearing to look for the owners.

"We have to leave this planet immediately," Conner heard while walking.

"In there!" Conner said. Miss Martian threw the door down, and Tigress leaped over her to fire an arrow at the owners. However, they pulled out a phone-shaped device, and changed into the thieves, disintegrating the arrow.

"They're using a Father Box," declared Superboy, "get it." As he was running, he was knocked out by one of the thieves. Kaldur leaped into the room, and slashed the alien he landed on, leaving an x-shaped scar on its chest. Miss Martian lifted two of the thieves off the ground, leaving only one left. He went through the window, jumped in air and buzzed his wings. Tigress shot an arrow out the window, but it missed its target.

"Guys," said Tigress, "he's getting away."

"We have more important matters to deal with," said M'gann, her eyes glowing.

"Someone is trapped in the basement," said M'gann, flying down the stairs while the rest of the team was running, "and I can hear him screaming for help."

"Then, let's move," said Aqualad as they reached the room where the person was held.

Then, they saw a man tied up to a pole. Miss Martian used her telekinesis to remove the ropes.

"Thank you," said the man.

"Who did this to you?" asked Superboy.

"A non-human creature. They didn't want me around."

"Which one?"

"It's nothing now. I'm John Henry Irons, by the way," He put his hand out.

"Conner- I mean, Superboy," he shook John's hand.

"Sorry to interrupt this moment of bonding," said Kaldur while examining something, "but a bomb has been placed in this room. The same bomb used to destroy Malina Island and Mount Justice."

"Well, let's move" said Superboy.

Outside the building, Beta Squad were standing around when suddenly, the building they were guarding exploded. Blue Beetle, Bumblebee, and Wonder Girl immediately took flight, while Robin stayed on the ground and was knocked back.

"Alpha Squad. They're-" said Robin while getting up before he was cut off.

"Right here," said M'gann through the telepathic connection. A floating force field emerged from the rubble and made its way to where Beta Squad was standing. Alpha Squad, along with a civilian, were inside the force field. The force field opened, and emerged from it.

"I assume no one else was here," said Kaldur after observing the enviroment. Suddenly, the entire Justice League arrived at the scene. Most of the members were floating in midair, while others, such as The Flash, were standing on the Green Lantern's platform. Zatanna, Plastic Man, and Blue Devil were standing on an ankh-shaped platform. The Atom stood on Doctor Fate's shoulder.

"Where are the thieves?" Batman asked Kaldur as rest of the League was searching the rubble to make sure no one else were inside the building when it exploded.

"Three of them were inside the building at the time it exploded. And the last one got away."

"There were running the company, right?"

"Of course."

"Good work. The Government will know of this, and we will investigate every corporation in the U.S."

APOKOLIPS

JANUARY 5, 00:00 UTC

Meanwhile, in the capital of Apokolips, a single alien was cowering in fear behind his ruler.

"You dare return to me after leaving your fellow soldiers to die?" the ruler said while his eyes were glowing red. The alien was still too busy cowering to answer the question.

"You're just as ruthless as I am," he continued, the glow from his eyes disappearing, "and for that, I am grateful. Soon, that primitive planet will know and fear the name Darkseid."

_And there you have it. The first episode of the new season. Introduced some major players this season, as well as give Hal a speaking role. The next episode I write will be a huge one._


	2. Metamorphosis

_To mazeygrace18: I will answer your questions in reverse order, if that's okay with you. Tim and Cassie, definitely. Bart and Thunder, aka Anissa Pierce, were originally supposed to be represented in the first episode, but Black Lightning was too young to have daughters. Beyond that, I don't know yet. As for the Zatanna/Zatara connection, you'll see. Ra's Al Ghul used the Lazarus Pits to recover from his injuries during the gap between "Summit" and "Endgame", so he will be back. And I'm sorry to say this, but Wally will not be coming back. With that, here is the second episode:_

NEW YORK CITY

JANUARY 16, 14:14 EST

Two figures are seen fighting on a rooftop in the rain. One of them is knocked out, and dragged through the rooftop. The figure has a mechanical arm.

"You think murdering Luthor will solve the problems of your life?" The other figure said as he stepped out of the shadows. He had a red mask and was wearing a motorcycle jacket.

"No one trusts you, not even the League. And now I will put you out of your misery." The red masked figure said as he raised his knife and thrusted his arm.

NEW YORK CITY

JANUARY 16, 10:00 EST

Earlier that day, several limos and police cars arrived at the United Nations headquarters in New York City.

"Today is the day that the United Nations announces who becomes the new Secretary General after Tseng's term began and ended with The Reach." said news reporter Cat Grant, "Though the timing may be a little off due to the Justice League's announcement that they will be investigating every corporation in the country, as a result of the destruction of Amertek's main building."

Several high-ranking government figures from around the world arrived at the UN, including Queen Bee, a fellow member of The Light and Aquaman, a member of the Justice League.

In a nearby hotel, the real Roy Harper was all alone in the bedroom he rented. He turn down the his friend's offer to rejoin The Team, and he wanted absolutely _nothing_ to do with his former mentor, so he was staying in random hotels around the country. The more he thought about his situation, the more depressed he got, so Roy turned on the TV.

"Repeating today's top story," said G. Gordon Godfrey, a figure familiar to his past, "The United Nations are about to announce Tseng's replacement. If they took my advice, then they will be hiring Lex Luthor. If not, then we occupy the place." Roy immediately turned off the TV.

_So Luthor is about to become the new Secretary General_, _then this will be the day my search for vengeance finally comes to an end._

GOTHAM CITY

JANUARY 16, 12:16 EST

Meanwhile, at Gotham Academy, Tim Drake was standing in the school's courtyard, waiting for the next bell to ring. Then came the new student. Ariana Dzerchenko. She took a seat next to him.

"Hi Tim" she said.

"Hey," he replied, "So, whatcha doin?"

"Just waiting for the bell to ring" she said, while sliding her hand into Tim's.

"Umm..." Tim said while sliding his hand away from Ariana's.

"What?" she asked, "is there something up?"

"Yeah, I can't do this."

"Why not?"

"I already have a girlfriend-"

"Does she go to this school?"

"No"

"Well, I could be your girlfriend in this school," she said while walking away with a flirty look in her eye. Tim was left speechless, unable to move a single inch of his body. His mouth was stuck hanging.

Inside the building, government officials from around the world started filling the seats. Lex Luthor was standing in a room with his bodyguard, Mercy Graves.

"Mercy, after today," he started, "I'm putting you in charge of LexCorp. Being a secretary general comes first to being in charge of LexCorp."

"What about your connection with The Light?" asked Mercy.

"Of course, there's still time for that." Then, Luthor's predecessor came into the room.

"Lex, they're ready for you." said Tseng. Lex left the room.

In the meeting room, thousand of government officials waited patiently for the arrival of the new Secretary General.

"Ladies and gentleman," said Tseng "I present to you, the new Secretary General. Lex Luthor." The people applauded as Lex Luthor walked onto the stage and shook Tseng's hand.

As that happened, a mysterious was standing on the ceiling, aiming his missile launcher at Luthor. A red-masked figure saw this and got out of his seat. The assassin fired the missile, causing a scare amongst the crowd. It exploded before it hit Luthor, but everybody already cleared the room. Up in the ceiling, the red-masked figure confronted the person responsible.

"Sorry, but I can't allow you to kill Luthor," He then punched the assassin in the face, causing him to fall backwards.

"Hmm, so you're Arsenal, the goon who tried to kill Luthor last year are you?" he asked the assassin as he got up.

"And where's Luthor's bodyguard?" asked Arsenal in return.

"Running LexCorp. But that doesn't mean you can kill the new Secretary General just because he ruined your life." The red-masked figure then punched Arsenal in the stomach, sinking to his knees as a result.

"And what can I call you?"

"You can call me. Red Hood," the red-masked figure responded. Then, Red Hood kicked Arsenal in his face.

HAPPY HARBOR

JANUARY 16, 14:16 EST

Meanwhile, at Happy Harbor High School, Zachary Zatara was in class, wondering why he is even here. He understands why he is here, but that didn't meant he wanted to be here. He was placed here at The Team's request in order to get an education. To make you book smart, described the League in their own words. Zachary then started reminiscing about the road he took to get to this point.

"_The League says that the magician Zatara is currently on leave," said Cat Grant through his television as she was standing in front of the Hall of Justice. The TV was immediately turned off as young Zachary wondered if the Justice League was covering up his uncle's disappearance._

_As the years went by, Zachary learned the ways of magic. He used several spells in his house, including one to help him make a cake for his parents on their anniversary. He also trained with his cousin Zatanna, lifting up a trash can in front of his house at nighttime, before she had to join the League._

_Eventually, he decided to uphold the family tradition. At the age of fourteen, Zachary became a minor superhero in hopes of joining the Justice League to discovery what happened to his uncle Giovanni. Instead, he was placed in The Team._

"_We appreciate your ambition," said Batman in front of what remains of the Hall of Justice, "but League rules states that you have to be eighteen or older to join the Justice League."_

"_So, what now?" asked Zachary._

"_You will be placed under Aqualad's supervision, and will be a member of The Team." He was brought up to The Watchtower to be introduced to Aqualad . . ._

"Zachary," said his teacher Mr. Carr, realizing that he is dozing off, "Wake up. You might want to see this." He pointed to a paper on Zachary's desk, a big F written on it in red marker.

The fight moved to a rooftop near the United Nations building.

With Luthor long behind them, Red Hood pulled out his switchblade, deciding that Arsenal should not be allowed to live. He ran towards Luthor's would-be assassin and slashed once, but Arsenal ducked under the blade. Red Hood slashed again, but this time Arsenal caught it with his mechanical arm. He punched Red Hood right in his mask with his other hand.

Arsenal shook the pain off his real hand as he felt Red Hood's switchblade slip out of his mechanical hand and a fist slamming his face.

"Is that all the tricks you got?" said the Red Hood before he slammed his head on Arsenal's face. Arsenal stumbled backwards, but he was still standing and started to run towards Red Hood.

Suddenly, the rain started pouring in.

Arsenal converted his mechanical arm into a laser blaster and aimed for Red Hood. All the shots missed as Arsenal's hand turned back to normal Red Hood started punching again. Red Hood made contact with Arsenal's face as he slid.

"You think murdering Luthor will solve the problems of your life?" said Red Hood as he walked towards Arsenal.

"No one trusts you, not even the League. And now I will put you out of your misery." Red Hood raised his switchblade and as he went in, a loud scream was heard around the city.

The Team, or the members that were available, traveled to the big apple at the request of the Justice League while they investigated the emergency at the U.N. They were tasked to find the would-be assassin. Near the United Nations, Aqualad jumped off the Bio-Ship and went straight to Arsenal. When Kaldur saw Roy, it was not a pretty sight.

"I was the assassin, okay?" Arsenal sarcastically stated as he was taken to the hospital via the Bio-Ship. Sparks erupted from his mechanical arm, damaged from the battle. His face was leaking blood.

"Roy," said Aqualad, "who did this to you?"

"Some guy calling himself, the Red Hood," he replied. Before Kaldur could ask anymore questions, Roy succumbed to his injuries. Aqualad looked down at the ground, wondering what to do next.

Meanwhile, in the United Nations, Red Hood met with the new Secretary General to ensure his safety.

"That little pest will never annoy you again", said Red Hood, referring to Arsenal.

"Excellent" said Luthor. They shook hands.

_This episode mirrors the events of "Targets". While that episode is focused on clone Roy Harper, this one is focused on the real Roy Harper. Anyway, back to topic. Arsenal is dead, and a new player has been introduced._


	3. Genesis

_To Guest BATMAN: Don't worry, Nightwing will be in the next episode that I write._

_To Guest: Well, if I do decide to use the Outlaws, then it would be with clone Roy and not Arsenal. Also, expect to see a lot of Fourth World characters, as well as some characters you didn't expect to see._

THE WATCHTOWER

JANUARY 17, 04:54 EST

In the Watchtower, Aqualad and Robin were debating about the idea of Arsenal having his own memorial.

"Kaldur," said Robin, "I shouldn't have cut this guy some slack. If I knew he was going AWOL I would have-"

"Tim," said Kaldur, "but he is a member of The Team. And he deserves to be remembered as such." Then, the empty pedestal lit up, and an image of Arsenal soon hovered above it.

EL PASO

JANUARY 18, 08:18 MST

Meanwhile, in an abandoned rock quarry, the skies were getting dark as clouds gathered. A lightning bolt struck the middle of the quarry, and a mysterious figure stood where the bolt landed.

THE WATCHTOWER

JANUARY 18, 09:19 EST

In the Watchtower, The Team is gathered as Aqualad stand in front of several holographic screens, essentially showing the same thing.

"An hour ago," he started, "several workers saw an unknown person shooting lightning at them. The League is currently investigating LexCorp, so they put us in charge of capturing this man."

"Wait," said Kid Flash, "How do you know if this is even a man?"

"You mean he pulled a Mulan?" asked Guardian.

"Enough" Aqualad said, "Now, here's what we're going to do. . ."

At the quarry, the mysterious figure was shooting lightning into the sky.

"Brother," the figure said, "Where are you?" Suddenly, the figure was blasted with a beam of energy coming from the Bio-Ship, knocking him back.

The Super-Cycle roared through and blasted the figure in the chest.

Then, Beast Boy, Wolf, and Zachary Zatara ran towards the figure. Wolf leaped toward the figure and bit him in the arm. He shook Wolf off his arm and it landed in the ground. Beast Boy changed into the Bengal tiger and leaped towards him, but the figure slammed him into the ground.

Aqualad and Superboy came out from the Bio-Ship, while Guardian hopped off the Super-Cycle to tend to Beast Boy.

"It's over," said Aqualad, "surrender yourself, or risk injury."

"So your the teen heroes my brother faced off against," he said, "I'm not impressed."

Suddenly, a red portal appeared between the mysterious figure and The Team. Klarion The Witch Boy and his familiar, Teekl, emerged from the portal.

"Klarion," said Aqualad.

"I've seen you met my brother, Mordru," said Klarion as he scratched his cat. Mordru was scowling at the comment.

"Brother," started Mordru, "We were getting tired of waiting for you to throw the world in chaos, so I'll do that for you." Then, he shot lighting at his brother, who avoided it by creating a hole inside himself. He responded with a fireball aimed directly at Mordru.

"Enough of your meddling," said Mordru, "I will plunge the world into chaos, whether or not you approve." He then focused his energies and shot lightning into the sky, causing it to thunderstorm.

"How do we end this?" Aqualad asked Klarion, dodging a ligtning bolt afterwards.

"By shooting at his familiar," Klarion replied by pointing to a snake wrapped around Mordru's shoulder. Kaldur then went to his team to tell them.

"In order to defeat him," he started, "We must take out his familiar. Superboy, Guardian, distract him. Zatara, you're with me." Then the heroes ran towards Mordru.

"Hey Mordy," taunted Superboy, "Kryptonians are so much stronger than you!"

"Yeah," Guardian continued, "and so are humans!" Mordru growled at them, and shot lightning out of his fingertips. Superboy and Guardian jumped to their sides to avoid getting blasted.

"Kaldur, now," said Superboy. Behind him, Aqualad and Zatara ran towards Mordru. Aqualad had his Water Bearers out and shot a whip. Zatara readied his fingers.

"Gninthgil!" Zatara said, as he shot lightning from his fingers. It land on Aqualad's whip, where with his personal magic, was caught on Mordru's pet snake. The lightning shocked the snake, and soon Mordru disappeared from sight. Klarion smirked.

"Well," he started, "I guess we're back to being enemies. Let's go home Teekl." Then, he summoned a red portal, vanishing inside.

THE WATCHTOWER

FEBRUARY 6, 08:54 EST

Back at the Watchtower, Aqualad, Superboy, and Miss Martian met with Doctor Fate.

"So," he said, "Another Lord of Chaos has entered the physical plane. It's just what I feared."

"What are you going to do about it?" asked Superboy.

"I will meet with my fellow Lords of Order to discuss our next course of action." He then opened a portal, which he started walking towards.

"Take care of her" Doctor Fate said before entering the portal.

_And that's the third episode. This was a bit too filler-ish for my tastes. But it served its purpose. The __next episode will feature the return of Nightwing._


End file.
